River of Dreams
by MageNellofGalla
Summary: Rikash is saved by an uncanny girl and he wakes up with legs! Now, Rikash must travel with this sarcastic blonde to reach the only place he remembers: Tortall. Well, they say patience will get you what you want... and then some. Rated T for safety.


Rikash woke up, dazed and groggy.

_Where am I?_ He thought.

His vision registered a waterfall that cascaded into a lake which housed fishes of different species and colours. A woman with wavy, platinum blonde hair sat by the fire as she sharpened a dagger. Her blue eyes were concentrating on the blade, determined to make the dagger as sharp as a tack. "You're awake," her small voice murmured.

"Barely," he croaked. "Where am I?"

She looked at the blond who lay on the grass. "You're with me," she said, humour in her eyes.

"Ha ha," he said sarcastically. He sat up with a grunt and noticed that his legs were sore. Wait a minute... he had _legs?_ "What happened?" he said abruptly. Panic filled his eyes as he looked around.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said. "We're on the border between Maren and Tyra."

"I used to be a Stormwing..." Rikash stated. He was very confused. The last time he sat down like that had to be centuries ago.

The girl snorted. "That's impossible. Once you turn into an immortal, you can't go back."

"But..." he trailed off. He could hardly remember what happened- whatever it was.

"It was probably just a dream," she told him simply. "You should eat. It seems like you passed out from a heat stroke earlier." The blonde handed him a piece of cooked ham in between two slices of bread. "It isn't much but it'll have to do for now."

Rikash accepted the ration of food and sat across the girl from the fire. There was a steel grey mare lying by the fire, fast asleep. Beside it was a fine dog that looked to be a border collie.

"I found you in the lake," she said. "You're really heavy, you know that?"

Rikash smiled sheepishly. "I can't help it."

"It's not a problem," she reassured him although it looked like she couldn't even lift a sword. "D'you have a name?"

"Rikash Moonsword." He studied his new acquaintance. She had thin, pink lips and a straight nose that was a bit round on the tip. Long blonde eyelashes framed almond-shaped eyes in the shade of icy blue. Level eyebrows were knit together in concentration. She was sharpening her dagger again.

"Diana," she said. "I'm from Tyra but my father was Scanran. You can call me Dia."

Rikash nodded, storing the new information. He noted that she fixed her hair as she told him this which meant that it could be a lie. "Diana, got it," he repeated. He proceeded in his mission to find out what happened. "So Tortall had a war with the Immortals, yes?"

Dia nodded. "Immortals are actually still crawling around there. They're the reason I left."

"You said that you're from Tyra," he reminded her.

"I know. I used to live on the border between Tortall and Tyra. I guess that I just like borders," she said shrugging.

"Well I used to be a Stormwing," he explained. "So something magical must've happened because I have toes and fingers here." He gobbled up his sandwich. He seemed to be quite hungry.

Diana put her knife back into its place at her belt. "I guess we'll figure out what happened together, won't we?" she sighed. "If you want to go and hunt for food, be my guest." She pointed to an unstrung bow and quiver beside her horse. "If you choose to travel ahead, then do so. I won't mind, but I also don't mind company."

She got to her feet and unrolled her bed roll by the fire. After a gulp from her water skin, she sat with her legs crossed on her bed roll. Diana closed her eyes and let her body rest and her muscles loosen. Rikash looked at the girl with an odd expression. Then he remembered: people meditate to train themselves for discipline. All of a sudden, a memory flashed in his mind.

* * *

><p><em>A tall girl of roughly fifteen with brown, curly hair and stormy blue-grey eyes sat cross-legged by the fire with an lanky mage. They had their eyes closed and an odd light shimmered around them. Rikash looked at them and sneered. "Humans." He flew off to catch up with his kin.<em>

* * *

><p>Rikash took his time to put names to their faces and in the end, he only recognized the girl. Her name was Daine. The lanky mage's name was out of his reach and it made him feel <em>odd<em>. Like something in the world was missing. He shrugged it off.

The used-to-be stormwing decided to join her. Rikash stumbled into the same position as Dia and closed his eyes. He emptied his mind which wasn't hard since he had only vague memories of before. But staying still proved to be difficult. The position made him restless after a few minutes and an itch always found its way on one part of his skin or the other.

They must've sat there for hours when he heard her speak. "I was kind of hoping that you'd go out and hunt," she said with a laugh.

Rikash opened his eyes to Dia petting her dog. "I've never been good with a bow," she explained. "But I do fairly well at fishing, So don't be surprised when our dinner is fish all the time."

Rikash chuckled. "It's been years since I've picked up a bow, let alone strung one." He stood to sit be the fire. "Centuries, actually."

"Right," she drawled. "Because you were actually a stormwing before."

"I really was!" Rikash said defensively.

"Okay, okay." Dia ducked her head. "If that's what you want to believe, then that's what you want to believe."

Rikash looked at the girl suspiciously. "How am I supposed to know that you don't mean harm to me?"

Dia _had_ to laugh. "Like what? Rape you? Look. I just pulled you out of the water." She dusted off her hands and joined him by the fire. "You don't need to come with me if you don't want to." Diana's voice held amusement.

Rikash didn't give a second thought. If she left her, then he'd be all alone in a foreign land and this time, he didn't have wings to fly him home. No, he wouldn't leave. But he realized that he also couldn't stay. Maybe he could convince Dia to travel with him to Tortall. "I'd like to stay with you," he announced. "That is, if it's okay with you."

"No," she drawled sarcastically. "It _isn't_ okay with me. That's exacty why I asked if you'd like to come with me."

Rikash blushed and looked down.

"Well then, let's go." And with a grunt, she rose from her seat.

"Right now?" Rikash groaned.

"Yes, right now." She whistled for her mare to wake up. "Come on, Moondust. We have to go."

The mare opened her eyes lazily, seriously considering the option of going straight back to sleep. But in the end, she forced herself to stand up and stretch.

"But why?" Rikash stood up reluctantly. "I just woke up!"

"If we travel with the sun up, we'll be drenched in sweat," she said, saddling up Moondust, "And although it'd be fine with me, I don't know about you. Unless..." She trailed off and looked at her new acquaintance.

He shook his head vigorously.

"Thought so." Dia smiled victoriously. She secured her packs onto the saddle and turned to face Rikash. "Turn around."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

She shook her head sharply and made a gesture for him to turn around. "Just do it."

He shrugged and turned but kept his ears sharp. He heard the slosh of the water and the sizzle of fire as it went out.

"Okay. It's fine now," she said, dusting off her fingers. He obeyed and wondered what was so secretive about putting the fire out.

He caught the barest glimpse of the lack of a water trail from the lake, but thought nothing of it.

"Do you want to ride with me on Moondust or do you want to walk?"

"I'll ride with you in the saddle," he replied immediately.

"Good." She nodded. "I'll have someone to lean on when I fall asleep." She swung herself onto the saddle and told him to get on as well.

He shook his head. "I don't know how to do that."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "You mean to say that you don't know how to ride?" Then she settled down. "Of course. Sorry. I keep forgetting that you were a _stormwing _before."

Rikash snorted at her sarcasm and walked over to the mare. "Come on," she said holding out a hand. "I'm just joking."

He frowned but accepted her hand all the same, noting that her attire was completely dry. He shrugged it off and listened to her instructions.

"Step there, swing yourself over and..." Rikash landed in the saddle with a light thump. "There you go," she said approvingly. "Now get comfy. This is going to be a _long_ ride."

"Where are we going anyways?" he asked from the back of the saddle.

"The capital." She kicked Moondust into a trot. "Tressa." She whistled again and called for her dog, Rain.

"Why?" He yawned.

She hesitated before answering. "Unfinished business."

"What kind of unfinished business?" he asked.

"You'll see," Dia said. Rikash gave what sounded like a cross between a moan and a whine. Dia laughed.

They rode in silence afterwards, only the sounds of the forest and Moondust's hoof beats. Pretty soon, Rikash felt his eyes droop. As hard as he tried, he couldn't keep his eyes open. Rikash closed his eyes and leaned forward to place his cheek on Dia's back. He heard the rumble of her laughter and wrapped his arms around her waist. Rikash smiled as he felt her gasp in surprise and try to remove his arms. "What if I fall?" he mumbled.

"Mm...Fine." Dia sighed in defeat and relaxed.

The last thing Rikash heard before falling asleep was the hoot of an owl.

* * *

><p>Diana sighed. Her charge had fallen asleep and wrapped his arms around her waist. She pulled at them to separate the hands but he only tightened his hold on her.<p>

"What if I fall?" her charge mumbled. She was tempted to give a half-assed excuse to get him to let go, but relented.

"Fine." she sighed once and relaxed. When she went to this place to fulfill her task, she hadn't known that it would be like this. Then again, she had no experience in missions such as this.

_I wonder if he really does have amnesia, _she thought. _He can't have forgotten _everything.

She tried to remove his arms again once she thought that he had truly fallen asleep but he only tightened his grip. She sighed again in exasperation.

Rikash snuggled closer, making her hair mess up. She pulled it up from under his head and tied it with a leather thong. She placed it on her left shoulder where it could stay undisturbed by sleeping blonds.

He grumbled and took his arms from her waist.

_Finally!_ she thought, relieved. But to her disappointment, all he wanted to do was undo her hair and let it fall back down her spine. Afterwards, he proceeded to wrap his arms around her waist and place his head on the soft hair. She groaned. "That's it. We're switching places."

"Should I lean on your chest or on your back?" he said coyly. "It's your choice."

She snorted and shut up, seeing his point. _If only you weren't protected by my parents..._ she thought bitterly.

In an hour or so, she shook her companion awake. "Wake up, sleeping beauty," she teased.

He snorted at the nickname and stretched. "Why? Are we there yet?

"No." She swung herself off the saddle and offered him a hand. "We're walking." She flashed a smile at the groggy Rikash.

"What's wrong with Moondust?" He took her hand and gingerly got off the horse.

"If we keep riding her, she'll collapse," Dia told him firmly. "Let's go."

She cocked her head to one side to tell him to follow. Rikash trailed behind them at a sluggish pace at first but when he realized that he would be left behind, he quickened up his pace and truly woke up. "I''m hungry," he complained.

"So am I," she sighed. "If you can see at this hour, my offer still stands to go hunt. It would also do good for Moonlight to rest a bit."

He considered her offer and seriously thought about turning it down. But the rumble of his stomach decided for him. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Dia told Moondust to stop and stay under a nearby willow. She then took her bow from her packs and strung it with difficulty. It was very obvious that she wasn't used to the weapon. She closed her right eye and aimed the bow at Rikash. She pulled the string and kept it there for a few seconds before letting go. He expected an arrow to fly through him and he didn't know why. Then, a lost memory came to mind unannounced.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Daine leveled her weapon at Rikash as he stared back at her with contempt. "Tell her we mean you no harm, Lady Maura."<em>

_"You're on speaking terms with them?" Daine asked.  
><em>

_The one he called Maura shrugged. "They visit Yolane and Belden a lot. He is Lord Rikash."_

* * *

><p>He jolted back to the present, wondering who Yolane and Belden were.<p>

"Are you still with me?" Dia asked with a quiver in her hands. She waved the arrows in front of his face. "Helloo?"

He blinked and accepted the quiver. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I was just remembering something."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "You _remembered _something?" she inquired in disbelief. "Do tell."

He shook his head as if to rid its contents. "It's kind of blurry."

"Go ahead," she urged. "You can do it."

"There was this girl named Daine and Maura and Daine was pointing a bow at me. She didn't seem to like Stormwings but the little one- Maura- didn't mind us." He shrugged. "That's all."

Dia sighed as if disappointed. "All right. Well, are we going or not?

Rikash looked at the bow in his hands. It felt _odd_. The oddness was something he couldn't explain and he didn't quite like it. "I think it's still too early for me to handle a bow," he said, quiet but sure.

Dia sighed. "Well I'm going to eat." She walked over to Moondust and fiddled with the pack on her back. He followed and was shocked when he saw a whole ham in her hands.

"Why'd you want to hunt if there was food right here?" he asked.

Dia shrugged. "I thought that it would do something."

"What do you mean by that?" He hadn't a clue as to what she was talking about.

She shook her head. "Nothing. Nevermind."

Rikash scowled. He didn't like it when his curiosity couldn't or wouldn't be satisfied and this time was no exception. "It _obviously_ wasn't nothing."

"Well it was, now d'you want some or not?" She waved the ham in front of his face. "The argument we'll have is useless since I won't tell you anything so eat."

Rikash shrugged and took the ham. "I won't argue with that logic." He bit into the meat and chewed slowly, unused to the human teeth even after a sandwich.

"What are you doing?" she snapped. "Praying?" Dia grabbed the ham out of his hands and ripped of a piece of the meat off savagely.

They finished eating and went back on the road. This time, they walked.

"Rikash," Dia said in her sweetest voice. "Can you give me a piggy-back ride?"

He looked at her through the darkness. "A what?"

"Let me ride on your back," she said plainly.

"And why would I do that?" He cocked and eyebrow.

"I let you lean on my back. You owe me"

He laughed and turned his attention to the road. "I rode on Moondust's back. That doesn't mean I'll carry _her_."

Dia held his hand and bat her eyelashes. "Please?" He looked at her sidelong and sighed in defeat.

Rikash stopped and knelt on one knee. "Get on."

She grinned and climbed on. "Thank you, Rikash," she said sweetly.

"Yeah,yeah," he said miserably. She wasn't that heavy, really. But at the same time, he was relieved that she wasn't too light.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and settled her head on his shoulder. She wasn't really used to travelling at night and closed her eyes.

"Good night," she yawned, already half asleep.

"Good night," he replied gruffly as if there wasn't a blush on his cheeks.

And this is how they walked in the darkness: with Dia's steady breathing on his neck and her animals leading the way.

* * *

><p>At sunrise, a large city appeared on the horizon. "Dia," he whispered. "Dia, wake up." He jumped, trying to wake her up. She opened her eyes slowly. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty."<p>

Dia laughed sleepily. "Get your own jokes."

"We're at Tressa," he told her. Dia opened her eyes wide.

"We are?" She looked around. "We are..." She gulped. Dia nudged him and told him to get her down.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked as she dismounted.

"I can't let people see me riding on a person's back!" She yelled. "I'm very respected in these parts." She fixed her hair so that all of it lay on her right shoulder.

His eyes narrowed in suspicion. Who exactly was she?

* * *

><p><strong>(AN) Well, that's all for now. Not much here. Just a mystery waiting to be found out and lost memories. Would this be classified as a cliffie? Anyways, thanks a ton for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the story! I have big hopes for this story. It'll probably be around 20 chapters, I think. But I won't force it to be 20 and rush the story. It's a bit boring here but I promise it'll get better. =)**

**Warmest Regards,**

**Nell**


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